1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an image forming apparatus, and, more particularly, to a waste toner collecting device, capable of collecting a remaining waste toner after forming a visible image, and an image forming apparatus having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus generally develops a black-and-white image or a color image onto a printable medium, such as paper, transparent film, and the like, according to an image signal. Image forming apparatuses include a laser printer, an inkjet printer, a copier, a multifunctional device and a facsimile machine. Such image forming apparatuses may form images through an electrophotography method and an inkjet method. According to the electrophotography method, a beam is irradiated onto a photosensitive medium so as to form an electrostatic latent image, and toner is applied to the electrostatic latent image so as to transfer the image onto the printable medium. According to the inkjet method, ink having a liquid phase is sprayed upon the surface of the printable medium according to the image signal.
The image forming apparatus employing the electrophotography method charges the surface of the photosensitive medium with predetermined potential, irradiates the beam onto the photosensitive medium so as to form the electrostatic latent image according to a potential difference and then applies the toner, which is a developing agent, to the electrostatic latent image so as to form the visible image. The visible image formed on the photosensitive medium is transferred onto the printable medium. The visible image, which is made from a powder toner, is fused to the surface of the printable medium by applying heat and pressure to the printable medium.
The image forming apparatuses employing the electrophotography method are mainly classified into a black-and-white image forming apparatus, which forms the visible image using a monochromatic color (black), and a color image forming apparatus, which forms a color visible image through the combination of toners having four colors (yellow, magenta, cyan and black). Most black-and-white image forming apparatuses directly transfer the visible image formed on the surface of the photosensitive medium onto the printable medium. The color image forming apparatus can directly transfer each color of the toners onto the printable medium, or can indirectly transfer each color of the toners onto the printable medium after overlapping the toners having various colors on an intermediate transfer body.
The image forming apparatus employing the electrophotography method includes a cleaning device and a waste toner collecting device. The cleaning device removes a waste toner remaining in the photosensitive medium or the intermediate transfer body to which the toner is applied. The waste toner collecting device stores the waste toner removed by the cleaning device.
Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0040973 discloses a color image forming apparatus having such a waste toner collecting device. According to the above patent Publication, the color image forming apparatus comprises one photosensitive medium on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, four developing devices applying toners having different colors (black, cyan, magenta and yellow) on the photosensitive medium so as to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive medium, an intermediate transfer belt to overlap visible images having various colors formed on the photosensitive medium, a cleaning device to remove a waste toner remaining in the photosensitive medium and the intermediate transfer belt, and a waste toner collecting device to store the waste toner removed by the cleaning device. When printing is being performed, the waste toner remaining in the photosensitive medium and the intermediate transfer belt is removed by the cleaning device, and transferred to the waste toner collecting device by a waste toner transfer device. The waste toner collecting device is installed at one side of an inner body part of the image forming apparatus.
The conventional image forming apparatus includes the waste toner collecting device, increasing the size of the image forming apparatus. Recently, the size of the image forming apparatus is being reduced. However, if the size of the components as well as the waste toner collecting device is reduced, the functionality of the components becomes degraded. For example, if the size of the waste toner collecting device is reduced, the capacity for storing the waste toner becomes reduced so that the waste toner collecting device must be frequently cleaned.
Accordingly, in order to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus without reducing the size of the components as well as the waste toner collecting device, the number of the components and the space for installing the components should be reduced by improving the structure of the components such that one component performs multiple functions.